War in Gaza

[Bootstrap]

Palestinian dissident abducted, tortured, and killed by Hamas in Gaza
Hamas loyalists claimed that Odai al-Rabei's alleged participation in anti-Hamas protests meant he was a "traitor."

https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-848143

I'm guessing this was done in an attempt to dissuade further protesting.

Gazans are protesting Hamas.

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/27/worl ... tests.html

For three consecutive days, hundreds of people have marched through the town to demand the end both of the war and of Hamas’s 18-year-old rule over Gaza — public protests that have spread to a number of other towns in the battered enclave.

“Hamas needs to go away,” said Ahmad al-Masri, 26, a resident of Beit Lahia who helped call for the demonstrations. “If it doesn’t, the bloodshed, the wars and the destruction won’t stop.”

Israelis are protesting Netanyahu.

https://www.npr.org/2025/03/25/nx-s1-53 ... s-gaza-war

Polls show a majority of Israelis are against the end of the ceasefire and want negotiations to continue. Many feel this return to war is a betrayal and that Netanyahu and his government are forsaking the remaining hostages, leaving them to die in Gaza. Israelis are also protesting what they say is a threat to their democracy, as Netanyahu has renewed his push for overhauling the country's judicial system.

[JohnH]

A key difference is that Netanyahu doesn't try to execute or imprison the protesters against him.

[Bootstrap]

A key difference is that Netanyahu doesn't try to execute or imprison the protesters against him.

He doesn't try to execute them. And that is an important difference.

[JohnH]

A key difference is that Netanyahu doesn't try to execute or imprison the protesters against him.

He doesn't try to execute them. And that is an important difference.

My experience in Israel is most people I had contact with didn't like Netanyahu at all, supported other candidates and parties, and were quite open about this. They didn't seem to have any fear of retaliation. Israel seemed pretty much like an open democracy.

Even in the West Bank or in Arab cities inside Israel, people would freely say what they thought of the Fatah party and its leadership (which was not much). People there really enjoy talking about politics and "educating" a westerner on various ins and outs we might not be aware of.

None of that holds true in Gaza. Hamas expects absolute rule. They do have majority support from the public, who actually seem to like them, but the minority that doesn't is treated poorly and has to keep their feelings basically secret. And that's a key difference between Hamas's legitimacy and the rest of the Palestinians and the Israelis.

[Ken]

A key difference is that Netanyahu doesn't try to execute or imprison the protesters against him.

He doesn't try to execute them. And that is an important difference.

How many tens of thousands of civilians did Netanyahu kill in Gaza?

[ohio jones]

Gazans are protesting Hamas. ...

Israelis are protesting Netanyahu.

A key difference is that Netanyahu doesn't try to execute or imprison the protesters against him.

He doesn't try to execute them. And that is an important difference.

How many tens of thousands of civilians did Netanyahu kill in Gaza?

Squirrel!

[Ernie]

Interesting development in Gaza.

This is what I have been asking since near the beginning, "Why are the citizens not rejecting Hamas?"
It looks like it needed to get this bad (50,000+ dead and 100,000+ wounded) until some are ready to begin calling for regime change.

[Thomas_muntzer]

Israel’s society and military is simply far more powerful than Gaza, Egypt, or whatever Syria is now. Given a war, Israel will win.

That is the most common mistake that very powerful armies make: believing they are invincible. It happened to Napoleon in his wars, to Adolf Hitler, and if Israel does not stop this war now, it will happen to them too.

[Thomas_muntzer]

No, they won't. Because they aren't fighting a conventional army. They are fighting their own population, or the population of lands they are making claim to. Who will basically never go away unless Israel commits to actual total genocide.

The best they can accomplish is some temporary security through brutal repression. And it will only be temporary. Eventually the light-speed technological advancements in drone warfare we see in Ukraine will filter down to Israel and the occupied territories. And we will start seeing things like high explosive drones flying into the doors and windows of settler schools and synagogues controlled from 40 miles away. And then what? Are settlers going to live their entire lives 24/7 in underground silos and concrete bunkers? Israel is never going to achieve a peaceful society through military victory alone.

Yes unless they commit forced displacement of 2 million people but that's hard and for me it's incredible see people who says we must turn the other cheek supporting this kind of diabolic plan

[JohnH]

Yes unless they commit forced displacement of 2 million people but that's hard

It wouldn't be hard at all - Turkey did the same thing with Armenia. The harsh reality is that the strong rule over the weak.

It would be in the best interests of Palestinians and Gazans to make peace with their much stronger neighbor instead of trying to wage war with them. If they continue to pursue war, they will eventually lose. Unfortunately, since Israel's founding, their neighbors have repeatedly picked fights, most of which resulted in losing and ceding territory to Israel. A few countries, like Jordan, pursued peace. They also accepted millions of Palestinian refugees, and they don't want anymore.

and for me it's incredible see people who says we must turn the other cheek supporting this kind of diabolic plan

As a Christian we must turn the cheek to anyone who wrongs us. We can certainly hold political opinions about what some government should do, or what is in their own best interests to do, but when it gets personal, we must not retaliated or think we can also wage war.